Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) Shares Sold by Swiss National Bank

Swiss National Bank cut its stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) by 4.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 690,838 shares of the company’s stock after selling 34,800 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank owned approximately 0.26% of Royal Caribbean Cruises worth $159,369,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of RCL. Plato Investment Management Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC acquired a new position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. LRI Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, Truvestments Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $36,000. 87.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Naftali Holtz sold 17,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $261.62, for a total value of $4,447,540.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 42,127 shares in the company, valued at $11,021,265.74. This represents a 28.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Laura H. Bethge sold 14,992 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $261.86, for a total value of $3,925,805.12. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 21,155 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,539,648.30. This represents a 41.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 109,492 shares of company stock worth $28,571,705 over the last 90 days. 7.95% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on RCL. StockNews.com raised Royal Caribbean Cruises from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on Royal Caribbean Cruises in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $290.00 price target for the company. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $232.00 to $272.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Barclays boosted their price target on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $287.00 to $308.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Mizuho reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $253.00 price target (down from $255.00) on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $283.53.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Trading Up 0.3 %

NYSE:RCL opened at $208.01 on Friday. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a 1 year low of $125.06 and a 1 year high of $277.08. The stock has a market cap of $55.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.46, a PEG ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 2.53. The business has a fifty day moving average of $241.64 and a 200-day moving average of $219.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.39, a quick ratio of 0.15 and a current ratio of 0.17.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 28th. The company reported $1.63 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.50 by $0.13. Royal Caribbean Cruises had a return on equity of 48.97% and a net margin of 17.46%. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.25 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post 14.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Royal Caribbean Cruises announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, February 12th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to repurchase up to 1.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 4th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a $0.75 dividend. This is a positive change from Royal Caribbean Cruises’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.44%. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s dividend payout ratio is 28.06%.

About Royal Caribbean Cruises

Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. operates as a cruise company worldwide. The company operates cruises under the Royal Caribbean International, Celebrity Cruises, and Silversea Cruises brands, which comprise a range of itineraries. As of February 21, 2024, it operated 65 ships. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd.